Palacký University

Philosophical Faculty

Department of English and American Studies

The Concept of Love in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Wuthering Heights’

Iveta Skutková

English for Interpretation and Translation

doc. Mgr. Pavlína Flajšarová, PhD.

KAA/BRL1 British Literature 1

29. 01. 2021

The paper will focus on comparison between the relationship of Elizabeth and Darcy from
Pride and Prejudice and Catherine and Heathlicff from Wuthering Heights. There is a pattern
common to both the novels – they tell a story of love at all its stages. However, a common
main topic definitely does not mean that both stories are the same. One could even argue that
the novels could not be more different. Is it really the case? How could two stories about such
deep connections between two people end so differently – one in marriage, while the other in
death? Does it mean that there is only one „proper‟ way to love? It is more likely the opposite
– there is as many ways to love as there are people on the planet. As the main protagonists of
the novels show, each person loves another in a way that suits them, and although it does not
always have to end happily, it does not mean that the love was wrong. In order for people to
love, there must be one crucial, but very simple element present – to genuinely feel the love.
If that is the case, then it simply is love, no matter how successful or long-lasting it is.
Having said that there is no „stronger‟ and „weaker‟ kind of love, there are still varying
ways to express love, which can be observed in the two novels. Elizabeth and Darcy are by
many considered to be the definition of true love – two people who overcome all obstacles,
find a true other half in each other and end up confessing their feelings. In comparison to
Catherine and Heathcliff, their relationship seems quite simple, unproblematic and more
traditional. At the same time, it was definitely not managed easily. In order to obtain the
relationship itself, they had to try hard to understand each other and their feelings and „this
thorough understanding of their love as complementary and strengthening dictates the wisdom
of their relationship‟ (Wiesenfarth 264). The effort they made ultimately paid off as they
managed to find happiness through their love.
Although the fact that Elizabeth and Darcy had to truly think about and analyse their
feelings does not sound much passionately, to say that their relationship lacks passion would
be a misunderstanding. In fact, the passion is what makes it differ from most of the other
relationships in the novel. Elizabeth is very passionate and unlike majority of women at that
period, she does not want to marry someone her parents chose, but rather someone her heart
chose. She is surrounded by marriages which are mainly products of reasonable decisions and
even though the couples seem to lead quite content lives, Elizabeth realizes that the essential
thing is missing – the passionate desire to be with the other person for eternity. That is what
she most likely hopes to find in life and it is the reason why her relationship with Darcy
cannot be looked at as mainly based on sense.
The idea that Elizabeth and Darcy‟s relationship was passionate is supported even
more by the fact that it could be viewed as „hate-to-love‟ relationship. Their personalities are
in a way so alike that when they met, it was almost inevitable for them to become enemies
first. Elizabeth found Darcy‟s behaviour towards her so offending in the beginning that „she
willingly believed Wickham‟s lies about him‟ and „drew for herself an ill-mannered, unjust
Darcy‟ (Wiesenfarth 268). However, that is precisely what gave their relationship more
passion and made it more intense. They started as enemies, full of fierce rage, but later
learned to tame the rage and work with what is beyond it. Thus, „once they see their situation
as it really is, the cardinal virtues develop more substantively in them‟ (Wiesenfarth 266).
They achieved the true love by accepting that they may have been wrong and by willing to
give the connection they share a proper chance.
Elizabeth and Darcy‟s journey may be called simple since it is often viewed very
simply – as a straight line from falling in love in the beginning and getting married in the end.
Nonetheless, this pattern does not really apply to them. Their love turned into marriage due to
the fact that, unlike Catherine and Heathcliff, „the moral and emotional revolutions that Darcy
and Elizabeth experience by facing hard, unpleasant truth about themselves make them equal
and complementary partners in marriage‟ (Wiesenfarth 269). In other words, they made a
choice to find the base of their love and fought until they accomplished it. It is therefore
undoubtedly wrong to think of their relationship as effortless as it in fact required a lot of
effort.
One of the reasons Elizabeth and Darcy ended up as a couple was Elizabeth‟s belief
that to truly fall in love is more important than being secured and wealthy. It may be partly
controversial since, in the end, she managed to be both in love and secured. On the other
hand, she previously declined an offer from a wealthy man and, moreover, even from Darcy,
which proves she is really convinced that love is the most crucial thing. In this respect, she
fundamentally differs from Catherine – Elizabeth knew what she wanted from the beginning
and did not let herself be affected by the society‟s opinions of what is „proper‟, but rather
preserved her opinions until she managed it.
While Elizabeth and Darcy overcome all obstacles, find a true other half in each other
and end up confessing their love, it is not that simple between Catherine and Heathcliff. The
evolution of their relationship is quite the opposite – they start as inseparable friends and the
obstacles arise as they get older and face the harsh reality. The bond between them could be
best described as a passionate addiction – it is not „an amoral one, or outside the realm of
human experience either. Rather, it is a pattern of an obsessive and destructive relationship‟
(Goodlett 327). One can feel how intense and strong is the passion that bonds them, perhaps
because it seems to be based on a very strong emotion – fury. Both Catherine and Heathcliff
are extremely wild souls and defy anyone who is trying to tame them. They are brought closer
by the fact that „they are alike in their passionate rebellious natures; natures unsatisfied by the
artificial society that Linton represents‟ (Goodlett 319). Whenever they are together, it is
possible for them to release all the fury kept inside them. Thus, they become truly addicted to
the way they feel around each other, but they are not able to go beyond that addiction and to
explore the nature of their bond.
As expressed above, passion plays even more crucial role in the relationship between
Catherine and Heathcliff. However, here it is somewhat different as passion is the strongest
emotion present in the relationship and it merely supports its addictive nature. Elizabeth‟s
passionate personality makes her bond with Darcy in a way stronger and deeper, but the bond
between Catherine and Heathcliff, though undoubtedly very deep and intense, is not as strong
at last. It is a „dependent, life-giving need, without which Catherine or Heathcliff would
wither‟ – the passion simply outweighs everything else, and it seems like neither one of them
can work with it and use it to make their love stronger and persistent (Goodlett 320). For this
reason, the passion takes over their relationship and makes it toxic rather than strong.
Opposite to Elizabeth and Darcy, Catherine and Heathcliff‟s relationship could be
characterized as „love-to-hate‟, although it is not entirely correct. They could never hate each
other, but the initial innocent feelings are later absorbed by the fierce passion which reflects
the fury and rage they feel due to the way they are supposed to live. It naturally affects their
relationship as well and multiple disputes arise. Furthermore, since Catherine‟s stay at
Trushcross Grange after her injury, she is introduced to a different, higher society, which
makes her „see Heathcliff in a new light. Until now, Catherine has seen no other world, and
she looks upon the new one as an appealing alternative to the strangling addictive bond that
she shares with Heathcliff‟ (Goodlett 321). She realizes what her life could look like and
becomes estranged from Heathcliff, which makes their relationship even more dysfunctional.
They still need each other, are addicted to each other, but apparently they cannot grasp the
concept of their love and thus it transforms to frustration.
Catherine and Heathcliff do not end up marrying each other in the end, their story ends
tragically. It is perhaps due to the fact Catherine is forced to choose between „Linton, and the
psychological security inherent in that relation, or she must choose Heathcliff and the
passionate intensity present in the addiction‟ that she becomes ill and dies eventually
(Goodlett 322). It seems like the only possible solution for her since she cannot make the
choice. Although she does not kill herself, her body might understand the dilemma – if she
cannot freely be with Heathcliff, she would rather die. Naturally, it does not seem like a happy
ending, but the truth is that it might be the only proper one. It is to be argued what might have
happened provided that Catherine did not die and chose Heathcliff. There are many possible
scenarios, one of them being that their relationship would be stuck on the toxic and quite
dysfunctional level. Perhaps, Catherine would never stop asking herself whether she would be
better off had she stayed with Linton, and that would inevitably have a negative impact on the
relationship. Hence the way their love story ends might not be conventionally considered a
happy end, but it might be the happiest one they could have asked for.
The choice Catherine ultimately made is thus another element which prevented their
relationship from evolving. She could choose either to continue her journey with Heathcliff
and possibly try to reach better understanding of their love, or to begin a new journey and
completely close the chapter of her and Heathcliff. What she did, or more correctly hoped to
do, was somewhat foolish – she stepped on a new journey while hoping she could still keep
one leg on the old one. Catherine may have agreed with Elizabeth that love is the most
important thing, but at the same time „to Catherine, psychological security means having not
only a partner, but having one that is wealthy and socially acceptable‟ (Goodlett 321).
However, she could not afford to lose Heathcliff either, hence she desired to keep him in her
life as well. Life does not work this way – it is impossible in Catherine‟s situation to choose
both wealth and true love. The fact that she believed she could manage it in a way shows her
ruthlessness as it naturally hurt Heathcliff and furthermore, it made him „leave with the
express intention of remarking himself into an image that will satisfy Catherine‟ (Goodlett
322). He decided to change, to become a wealthy man, so that he would perhaps earn
Catherine‟s love, but that is definitely not how true love is supposed to work. One should
accept the other with all their flaws, not explicitly act as if they are not enough. By making
the choice, Catherine destroyed all chances at their relationship ever functioning again and
however much she tried to avoid it, she ultimately chose secured and wealthy life over love.
Judging from the comparison, nobody can say that the relationship of Elizabeth and
Darcy was somehow unequal to the one of Catherine and Heathcliff. The amount and
intensity of their love is immeasurable and it is not up to the readers to evaluate it.
Nonetheless, by analysing the patterns, it is apparent that all the characters merely tried their
best, or what they thought to be the best. It simply did not work well for all of them, but that
is how it relates to real life relationships. No person is programmed to know how to behave in
love so that they never make a mistake. Achieving happiness in a relationship very often
requires a lot of effort and one might gain a new insight into the matters by studying the
patterns of various characters‟ behaviour. The truth is that although it is natural to make
mistakes, there is almost always a chance to fix them. That is the very thing one can learn
from such relationships along with the fact that it is impossible for one pattern to suit
relationships of all people. There are too many differences for that, which is what makes the
various bonds unique and special.
 Works Cited

Goodlett, Debra. “Love and Addiction in “Wuthering Heights”.” The Midwest Quarterly 37,
no. 3 (1996): 316-324.
https://search.proquest.com/docview/195697951/fulltextPDF/87EC69B8C6D416BPQ/1?
accountid=16730

Wiesenfarth, Joseph. “The Case of “Pride and Prejudice”.” Studies in the Novel 16, no. 3
(1984): 261-273.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/29532288?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents